Railway tie and rail seat



'May 14, NJK-l L E, SPBINGER 1,713,454

RAILWAY TIE AND RAIL 'SEAT Filed April 22, 1927 A A f n Patented May 14, 1929.

orari-:Dl 4'sT-Arias PATENT "orFlcE.

JoHN E. SPRINGER, ORBALTIMORR, MARYLAND,` AssIeNoR or oNr'x-'IIALr` To H. s. i

'YHURLBUD Vor BALTIMORE, MARYLAND.

` RAILWAY TIE AND RAIL SEAT.

Application filed April 22,

VThis invention relates to railway ties and associated rail mounts or joints and has for its object the provision of a rigid composition tie providing for a solid rail lsupport and a compensating and adjustable rail seat.V

With the growing scarcity of wood and the more permanent character of, and almost universal use of concrete for building purposes, Vand its increased production and lowered price, a tie of re-inforced concrete offers advantages in permanency, strength and economy, and in the novel and advantageous form provided bythis invention, offers additional advantages of structure and arrangement of parts.

. lOne object of the invention is to provide a tie of concrete adequately re-inforced at points of greatest strain and additionally having a base forming a-seatresisting upward displacement.

A further object ofl the invention is the provision of a composition tie with a rail seat offering compensation and adjustment for wear both in rail tread and seat.

These and other objects and advantages will appear from the following detailed specification when read in connection with the accompanying drawings forming part thereof and in which,

Figure 1 is a view in side elevation of a tie and seat constructed in accordance with the present invention.

Figure 2 is a top plan view thereof.

Figure 3 is a longitudinal vertical section.

Figure 4 is a transverse vertical section on the line 4-4 of Figure 3.

Figure 5 is a detail perspective of the seat clamping and adjusting yoke.

Figure 6 is a perspective detail of the metal seat platecooperating with the concrete tie and clamping yoke to provide the rail seat.

Referring to these drawings by numerals l indicates generically a railway tie of concrete or similar composition, the opposite ends of which are appropriatelyformed to provide one side 2 of the railway rail seat. At the opposite inner side of this seat the tie may be formed with an undercut portion providing a seat for a movable rail clamp member 5 having its inner edge 4 correspondingly tapered to provide a joint preventing lengthwise displacement. The clamp 5 is prefer- "toward the base of the 1927. serial No. 185,792.

from the ytie by meansy of 9. The upper edge of permit the flange of the car wheels to extend down therein.

The described rail clamp member 5k is formed as shown with an upwardly inclining top face, the strap or yoke 7 engaging this face as shown and having its downwardly extending armsinclined at an angle rail seated in the tie. The yoke, as previously stated, serves to prevent Vlateral q displacement of the clamp member 5 from the tie; alsobecause of the angular relation of its arm to the f face of said clamp member beinge'ective when the bolts 8 are tightened up to force the joint block outwardly, and providing a wedging grip opposing rail-re1easing movement of the member 5.

Concrete railway ties are used extensively in tropical countries where the wooden ties `are subject to quick deterioration and destruction through the attacks of lwood-eating ants and other insects.

They are being used extensively in the Northern Hemisphere, and because of the tremendous strain and vibration to which they are subjected it is important that they be properly constructed to withstand the strain.

In accordance with the present invention these points of strain are adequately reinforced and protected by means of a plurality of reinforcing steel bars, as shown, four in number, bent to provide an approximate U-shaped tension member at each end of the tie underlying that side thereof outside of the rail and connected with a succession of upward bends 13 and downward bends 14 between their ends making these portions act as reinforcing struts. Preferably, and as shown, these struts are positioned in staggered relation when the tie is cast or poured, the downward bends 14 of one stud being positioned opposite to the upper bends 13 of the next adjacent stud. Y Y

To provide the tie with an adequate base support resisting displacement, I have formed the tie with a hollow base indicated at 15, Figure 4 by undercutting the base, as shown. Preferably, the sides of the tie are tapered downwardly to make the base wider, thereby providing a firmer seat, which in conjunction with Iwhat may be termed the base pocket formed by the undercut portion 15, tends to prevent the tie from being moved. from its seat.

While I have described a preferred embodiment of the invention it is to be understood that various changes, modifications, and adaptations are permissible within the spirit of the invention and the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim therefore,-and desire to secure by Letters Patentl is a 1. A railway cross tie havingr a body of concrete providing integral outer rail engaging portions at its outer ends, and having 'imbedded therein a plurality of longitudinally extending metal strut members eachhaving substantially U-sha-ped tension loops at its ends within the area of said integral rail engaging portions and each having a succession of reversely curving bends providing intermediate loop portions reinforcing the body of the tie between its rail supporting ends, the intermediate loop bends of adjacent strut members being arranged in staggered relation, the top face of the tiehaving a rail and chair seat formed thereon adjacent to its ends.

2. A railway tie formed with permanent outer chair members and with adjacent rail seats and inwardly thereof with clamp member recesses having undercut inner edges, clamp members detachably seated in said recesses engaging the inner sides of the rail and having substantially flat top faces inclining upwardly from the inner side toward the rail side and having tapered inner edges engaging the undercut edges of said recesses, U- shaped clamping yoke members inverted and embracing the top of said tie with Vflat surfaced top bars engaging the inclined top faces of said chair members, the side bars of said yokes extending downwardly substantially at right angles to the engaged inclined Vfaces of said clamp members with clamping bolts extending transversely through the tie and engaging and anchoring the lower ends of the side bars of the yokes.

3. A railway tie formed with fixed outer clamp members and adjacent seats for inner clamp members, inner clamp members detachably mounted on said seats to'engage the rail and having substantially fiat top faces inclined upwardly from the inner side toward the rail side, and clamping yoles embracing the top of the tie at its ends and having flat'surfaced top bars engaging with the inclined top faces of the detachable clamp members, said yokes having their side bars inclinin-g downwardly and outwardly substantially atl right angles tothe engaged inclined top faces of the clamp members and anchored to the tie body at theirlower ends. y

' JOHN E. SPRINGER. 

